Don't Panic
by Parfois Marguerite
Summary: 'I'm beginning to feel as though it's no longer safe here anymore . . .' In the year 2045 four nations of the world have achieved the long desired dream of colonizing land off of their planet. However as complications arise on both earth and their colonies they begin to fear that this new milestone in human history might be their last.
1. Chapter 1

Life in the American moon colony,New Houston, could only be compared to living in a fish bowl. Even those who lived within the center of the dome felt as if the walls were keeping them trapped like caged birds. It could have been a faint sense of nostalgia that made it seem that way, even though every inch of their land was custom made to replicate home back on earth; with the rural country grasses carpeting the edge of their home and the vast, bustling, concrete streets of their only city which contained the majority of the populace.

However this façade could only last so long for eventually everyone would look up at what should have been glorious blue skies and see the twinkling stars that had captivated every human at some point in their lives. Back on Earth, the vivid lights had given people a sense of optimism, but that wasn't the case for the people of New Houston. They were a daily reminder to them of just how far away they were from their real home, a place they had taken for granted.

The unexplainable sensation that had once left them feeling astonished had finally run its course for the people of New Huston. This artificial land was a dream they were ready to wake up from. All these aching emotions ultimately found their way to a closed up corner office within the colonial legislature building, one of the government offices within the city.

Within this office, America tapped his foot against the flooring, unable to examine the piled up work before him. The sinking feeling in his stomach only grew when he read the numbers that he multiplied to his expenses.

He glanced down at the foreboding papers one last time before taking a deep breath. The pace of his foot had slackened until it became motionless. While sitting back up into a proper position he pushed his glasses closer to his face. If history had taught him anything, it was that ignoring a problem did not make it go away.

America's current problems with maintaining his colony were that he had to constantly pay large sums of money just to keep everyone alive. Exporting things from earth to the moon was highly expensive and it seemed as if the small amount of resources that were exported from the moon did not help pay the cost. He still hoped that eventually the colony would be able maintain itself. Maybe then he could go back home.

As he skimmed through the stacks of papers and letters one in particular stood out. His papers were all printed expect for maybe a signature or two however the one he was currently looking at was a handwritten note. Puzzled as how it had gotten mixed up among the others he began to look through it.

_To: Alfred F. Jones _

_I 'm beginning to feel as though it's no longer safe here anymore. I've grown suspicious of those living around me. These problems facing my friend to the west aren't just coincidence. I fear that they too will start plaguing our lands as well. Don't P- _

"Mr. Jones." A hand lightly tapped America's shoulder stopping him from reading on. "The President has sent a message to you."

He yawned before turning to face the women. "Why didn't he just call me?"

The women took a step back away from him, the extremely disheveled man in front of her was out of place among the spotless, white collared force that worked within the building. To her, it was difficult to understand why a man like him was so high up in the chair of command. "He sounded rather concerned when he called, apparently he had called you; but you never picked up."

America didn't detect the sour tone of her voice; instead he immediately placed his hands into his pockets only to find that the device he was looking for was not there. "Oh, I must have forget my phone at home then."

Sighing she thrust the object she was holding out towards him. "I wrote down the instructions he left for you."

He hesitated before taking it from her hands. "Instructions for what?"

Rather than answer him she turned on her heel and began walking away. "Read it."

. . .

"America called. He's coming back in a month."

Canada tilted his head to the side as England walked into the living room with a file in hand. He was getting concerned as to why it was taking the Englishman so long to find a few papers. Now, having fully comprehended what England had said, he understood why.

"America's coming back. Did something go wrong up there?"

England shrugged his shoulders before taking a seat in an armchair adjacent from the Canadian, "He doesn't know why. Only that his boss ordered him to." Putting the papers down on the coffee table before them.

Canada lightly nodded before grabbing the folder set out before him, "Does he know if any of the others are coming back as well?"

"I didn't ask him about that but I guess that he probably doesn't know either."

For a few moments his gaze wandered from the Canadian to the only window in the room. Raindrops lingered on the glass from when it had drizzled a little less than an hour ago. Judging by the overcast weather it was likely that it would rain again soon.

"I talked to Japan a few weeks ago though. Other than the expenses, his colony seems to be doing fine."

A silent paused followed before Canada spoke up, "From what Prussia's told me, Germany has been having a few . . . issues with his colony."

England removed his gaze from the window and looked back towards Canada again, "What type of problems?"

"Technical difficulties. He told me that there has been a few power outages in a couple of places but luckily it's never been the entire area."

"Is it getting better?"

The memory of the last time Prussia had visited him replayed in the Canadian's head. He had laughed, talked over him, made Canada both frustrated and flustered the entire time and did everything else that he usually did. Despite this he couldn't help but remember the expression Prussia made when he brought up his brother.

"Err . . . they're not sure why things aren't working right yet." Although Canada's voice had gotten softer with each word, England could still understand what his friend was trying to say, "H-Have you heard anything from China."

"No one's heard anything from China."

"Oh."

This was the only thing Canada could say. Out of the four nations living up there, China was the only one that no one seemed to be able to get in contact with. It was obvious that the Chinese colony was still fully functioning, and communications between it and the mother country on earth were still being received. Why no one else was able to get in contact with China was a mystery.

As Canada remained silent he began to notice the expression the man in front of him as making. With his head resting on his hand, he looked almost like a bored student in the middle of class. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared off into space, deep in thought.

"At least America's coming back soon." interjected Canada.

England blinked before looking back towards him, "Hm?"

His jaw clenched for a few moments, "You seem a bit worried about America and the others."

The Brit rolled his eyes at the notion, "Please, with him up there I don't have to worry about being constantly pestered or my house being broken into at the middle of the night."

"What about France?"

"That's . . . different."

"Of course it is." England didn't hear him speak under his breath.

A few uncomfortable moments passed between the two nations before England once again spoke up, "You haven't looked at the papers yet." He gestured towards the folder in the Canadians hand.

"Oh yeah." England watched intently as Canada opened up the file and began reading the papers.

With each minute Canada's expression grew more surprised. After re-reading the pages a second time he snapped his gaze back up, "You're going?"

"Possibly. There is still a lot of legal procedures I need to go through before I can start working on it."

"You do know that this isn't exactly a cheap thing. Even America and China's economy are starting to become affected by the amount of money they're spending."

"Does your opposition on this mean that you've decided as well?" This cut Canada's protest short.

"No I . . . I'm still not sure, I . . . I just don't want to rush anything."

"I can understand that. America might not though."

Canada let out a heavy sigh as he thought about the last time he talked to his brother, "I don't even know why he wants me up there. He used to want to be the only country with people on the moon."

"You know he can't do anything about Japan, China, and Germany being there."

"I know but why does he want us up there too? I know it's not because he misses us that much, he would call more than once every month if he did."

"I don't think it matters why besides I'm not doing this for him I'm doing it for me."

"Would you even have considered this if he didn't ask you to?" England narrowed his eyes towards the Canadian. For a few minutes they simply stared at each other. With nothing else to say Canada stood up from his seat, "I'm supposed to be meeting France soon, I think I'll leave now."

The previous expression faded from England's face as stood up as well, "Alright, then I guess I'll see you later then."

Canada grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and started heading out towards the house's foyer while England followed behind him, "Maybe we can meet up with America when he comes back. Did you two talk about meeting at a specific time?"

"He wants me to meet him at the naval academy in Annapolis. The President's giving a speech there on the twelfth of June. He thinks he won't be too busy that day."

. . .

Meanwhile among the many living within the in east coast of the United States, one young girl was soon to learn what it would feel like to either achieve a dream or fail it.

"Open it." The impatient request had been the first thing said since two teenagers had first entered the simple suburban house. Each one of them had gathered around a young girl sitting on a couch. No one knew how long she had been clutching the sides of a thick envelope as if letting go meant losing her life. Her eyes were locked on the envelope as the rapid thumping of her heart escalated the prickling sensation growing all over her body. Despite this she continued to remain motionless and afraid of the answer to a question that had plagued her mind for four years.

"Come on Jane you've already been accepted to the University of Maryland, what does it matter if you get rejected from this one?" A sharp gasp emitted from the girl following her statement. The curly haired brunette beside her smiled innocently when she turned to face who had shoved their elbow into her stomach.

"Let her have a sec to prepare, Jenna." Whispered the Brunette.

"She's right Cassie." It had taken Jane a lot longer to speak then she had planned. The two leaned closer as she slipped her hand into envelope, almost as if they could get a peek at the letter before she did. Taking a deep breath, she slowly slid the paper out. Had her mind not have been a jumbled mess of what if's she may have noticed a hand grab the other end of the envelope before it was whisked out of her hands.

"What the heck Jenna!" The friend in question darted to the other end of the room before the letter could be removed from her.

"Making this go faster." Her eyes flew to the content of the page, it wasn't long before she looked back up towards the other two.

Jane's harsh and erratic breathing was the only sound that filled the house while Jenna's lips remained sealed. "Damn it don't just stand there looking at me like that, if I wasn't accepted then just tell me!"

Jenna snorted before the paper in her hands fell to the floor. "Congrat's you're in." Before the words could fully register in her mind, Jane dropped to her knees and seized the paper swifter than when it had been taken it from her.

It had taken her longer than Jenna to look through the paper. "Jane . . .?" Cassie bent down to her friend's side before placing a hand on her shoulder, it however pulled away the moment her friend fell onto her back.

Cassie like her friends made a grab for the paper in order to validate if what Jenna was saying was true. The first sentence however said everything 'Congratulations you've been accepted to United States Naval Academy.' What came afterwards didn't seem to matter to the girl laughing on the ground.

Despite what her two friends thought, this letter was not the completion of her dream. Only the first step in it.

However, June 12th 2045 was not a day she would forget.


	2. Chapter 2

A sea of unsynchronized clapping followed a booming voice after giving its last outstanding statement. As the President was escorted to another secure and more private area of the campus building the majority of the onlookers also began to walk away. It wasn't long before all that was left was those cleaning up and two suit-wearing men that nobody had bothered to notice to begin with.

America was the first one to move from his spot near the podium, England for once didn't bother to try and hide the slight smile forming onto his face. "Hey man glad you could make it." He pulled his friend into a hug before any reply could come forth.

England was stiff against him, his eyes widened briefly in surprise at the unexpected contact. He recomposed himself rather quickly guessing that the long period of time spent isolated had made him miss his home and friends. "It's good to see you again, America." He lightly pushed the larger away, ending the embrace.

England's forehead creased when he stared up at America. His cheery demeanor did not reflect his features. Large bags sagged under his blue eyes, which were not looking as bright as they usually did. His chapped lips were paler than before as well as the color in his face which resembled the sky on an overcast day.

However any growing concern he had was shaken off when America spoke again. "You too, it feels like it's been forever since I've seen anyone." It had been only little over a year since he had seen any other nations, for a human that was a long time but for a nation like himself it was rather short and expected. Depending on where they lived, some nations only meet a handful of times a year while others could see each other a few times a month.

England noticed his friends gaze moving in different directions, as if he was looking for something. "Is something the matter?"

America hesitated, turning his head slightly, before answering. "Didn't you say that um . . . that . . . that someone was going to be here too?"

It took a few seconds before the answer clicked in the English man's mind and a look of realization found its way on his face. "O-Oh that's right, I almost forgot to tell you that Canada's plane had been delayed so he'll have to meet us later this evening."

Nodding, he shrugged his shoulders at the reply. "Sounds good." A look of contemplation met his features before he continued. "There's something I wanted to tell you alone anyway."

Instinctively, England took a step closer towards him. "Did something go wrong up there?" His voice had lowered in volume despite the lack of people around them.

America turned to the right before slowly walking off in that direction as England followed directly next to him. Leaning down to match the Englishman's height he whispered. "We can talk on the drive back to D.C." Nothing else was said between the two after that.

. . .

"It's been a month Danny, get over it."

A young man a little over the age of twenty-three slowly moved his gaze from the flashing scene outside of the car window. His hunter green eyes lost their look of carelessness at the sight of his sister, Jane, in the seat next to him.

She shrunk back at the familiar heated glare. Over a month ago the look had only been given to her on certain occasions where she truly deserved it. However now it seemed that this was the only look he gave her. "Over what?" There was an agitated edge to his tone as if he had been offended by her words.

Her rather calm demeanor faltered for a second as she briefly mimicked his fractious expression. "You don't have to remind me how . . . disappointed you are in my decisions every time you look at me."

Snorting he shook his head in somewhat amusement. "It's just sad that you're going to throw away a full ride to Maryland." There wasn't any sympathy shown in his voice as one would expect.

"Throwing away?! I'd be throwing away an opportunity only given to a little less than twelve hundred students in the entire country if I went to the University of Maryland." She sighed in frustration and leaned back into her seat. "Besides the Naval Academy will get me farther along in my goals better than if I went to Maryland."

A simple roll of her brother's eyes left a gash on her ego, that had of recent grown rather large, and a dull pain in her heart. "You do know that being in the military means you can't whine and complain about anything."

"I don't complain."

"I don't wanna go into the water there's shark's in there, I'm bored I don't wanna play monopoly anymore, Mo-om Danny's being mean to me." He taunted her; the tone purposely too effeminate.

"I don't complain to people who aren't my family." A growl formed in her throat as she thought over her words. "If anyone's complaining it's you. All you've done since I got accepted is complain and moan. I would think that you of all people would know how hard it is to do something like this and would be proud!"

"Proud?" Disbelief was evident on his face. "Oh I'm definitely going to be proud when I'm picking your ass up from the Academy, Half-way through Plebe summer because you quit like everything else you've done!"

"You think I'm going to quit like you did?"

"You quite soccer because it was too hard, you quit playing the Piano because it was too hard, you quit jazz band because it was too hard. Every time you do something hard you quit and the military baby sister is the hardest of them all."

"I'm not you so just shut up!"

"You're the one who talked first." She didn't try to have the last words after that.

Like most siblings, Jane and her brother had ups and downs in their relationship. To her, today was the lowest point they had ever reached and showed no signs of going back up. The reason for it had to do with her decision to go to the Naval Academy, an undergraduate college that prepares young men and women to become professional officers in the military. Students there attend the academy for four years, graduating with a bachelors in science, before serving in the military for at least five years.

Danny knew this place all too well due to the fact he had once been a midshipmen but eventually quit for reasons few actually knew, Jane was one of them. His reason for leaving the academy was why he was the only family member she had that hated her choice.

However, knowing this reason she could never truly hate her brother. Glancing back to him she noticed the odd expression playing on her brother's face. She expected him to silently fume at the very least-like most people would. However it was obvious to see that the only thing he looked like at that moment was disappointed and she hated it.

Danny was a rather pale and lanky young man unlike his short and round father. He kept his light mahogany hair at only an inch longer than a buzz cut and a small amount of stubble on his oval shaped face was only noticeable to those who came near him.

Jane, on the other hand, was only five foot four with rather scrawny arms, something that would eventually build up in muscle during the rigorous training that was Plebe summer. At one point her hair had been the same color as his until she had decided to dye it burgundy earlier in life. Now, after not dying it in a while, her hair was noticeably darker than his; currently it reached a little bit past her shoulders.

Looking outside Danny could tell that they would reach downtown Annapolis soon. There they would meet up with their father for lunch. Their father coincidentally worked at the Academy as civilian computer technician and was getting off work early due to some event happening there.

"That's strange." Jane blinked at her brothers words. She hesitated before looking ahead towards the road where she noticed what he was talking about.

A good distance ahead of them was the scene of a car crash, something that in these times was extremely rare. Many years ago automatic cars had just started out as the newest and safest version of transportation possible. They required no manual assistance from people to get to their destination. All someone had to do was type in the coordinates and the car would take them there.

Despite this, there were times when something inside the car would go wrong and it would falter. As the two of them came closer to the scene she thought of a time when many tests and court trials were put in place to see if it was dangerous to do certain things while inside the car such as eating or drinking.

Some believed that by spilling liquid on the dashboard it could short circuit the electrical components and cause a crash. Instead, it was proven during these tests that only a couple times out of hundred did spilling drinks do anything, it was not enough to get any restrictions passed. Besides no one had yet to die because of something like that.

. . .

"What happened?" This was the first thing England had said since they left the campus and now they were driving down the city streets of downtown Annapolis.

A puzzled look came to America's face as he glanced toward the other man, however after a few seconds it was replaced with frown. "What do you mean 'what happened?' It sounds like you expected something bad has already happened."

England scowled at the rather impetuous and farfetched statement. "What else would be so important that you didn't want anyone else to hear?" America could tell he was beginning to get annoyed as evident from the impatient tone he was using.

He took a deep breath before answering. "Well to be honest, you were somewhat right when you asked if something had happened." There was a silent pause. "It's not that something bad had happened but more on along the lines that something might happen."

"And why couldn't Canada know?"

He looked down towards his hands. "I don't want it to affect his decision." There was a hidden guilt in what he said that England immediately honed in on it.

"So you're going to lie to him and pretend everything's okay so he'll say yes!" He instantly turned his head to glare at the younger nation, irritation rising with every second. "You're going to let him go up there when you know that something might happen that could potentially endanger him." America had tried to speak up more than once during his scolding rant, but England's voice only raised in volume every time he opened his mouth. "And why would you tell me something was wrong when I'm going to be up there, just because I said yes once doesn't mean I can't withdraw my decision!"

"Listen it's not that I think that something might happen to you guys but well rather to . . . me." And for a few moments all England did was look at him as his previous emotions began to die down some.


End file.
